Iron jaw (circus)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Iron jaw" circus – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Iron Jaw is a traditional aerial circus act.

The act consists of a performer raised into the air by a cable, trapeze or other similar apparatus, supported only by a bit clamped between their teeth. Depending on the apparatus the bit is attached to, the performer can alternately swing in circles around the ring below or spin wildly in place, controlling speed by alternately extending their arms and legs out or bringing them in close to their body to speed up (as a result of the conservation of angular momentum).

The act is frequently referred to as the Human Butterfly due to the removable wings which traditionally adorn the performer's costume.

It is also known as the 'Jaws of Life'.^[1]

Tiny Kline, in a footnote to her memoir, describes Iron Jaw as:

"(a) holding one's grip by the teeth bulldog-fashion, suspended in the air; (b) lifting another person's weight; (c) juggling furniture or tugging an automobile- in short, any work involving teeth-power."